Law News

Add news

Search results for tag "Clients"

• DAC Beachcroft allies with Canadian firm with a view to merging

  May 18 2012 DAC Beachcroft has entered into a formal association with Canadian firm McCague Borlack, with a long-term plan to fully merge the two firms. Initially, the deal... more

• Long term thinking could save biglaw

  May 16 2012 Here is an interesting article by Mark Harris, the chief executive of Axiom Law, a 900-person new-model legal services firm. Harris attempts to diagnose some of the... more

• Bristol law firm TLT to merge with Scottish litigation house Anderson Fyfe

  May 15 2012 Bristol law firm TLT is set to merge with Scottish litigation house Anderson Fyfe, gaining offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh as well as eight partners and 45 employees.... more

• Singapore firm Shook Lin & Bok hires BLP lawyer as India head

  May 10 2012 Singapore firm Shook Lin & Bok has hired Berwin Leighton Paisner senior associate Azmul Haque as a partner and the co-head the firm’s India practice.   Shook Lin’s... more

• Salans closes Hong Kong office to focus on Shanghai

  May 10 2012 Salans has closed its Hong Kong office weeks after pulling out of Beijing as it shifts the focus of its China practice onto Shanghai. Salans has closed its Hong... more

• Dutch firm De Brauw to launch in Singapore

  May 09 2012 Leading Dutch law firm De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is waiting on regulatory approval for the launch of a new office in Singapore, which will be its fifth... more

• Freshfields promotes 17 to counsel rank

  May 07 2012 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has bolstered its ranks of counsel with the hire of corporate specialist Ethan Jin from the Hong Kong office of Clifford Chance and the... more

• Law firms lose reputation as low credit risk

  May 03 2012 The turmoil over at New York firm Dewey & LeBoeuf, a large and prestigious name in the business - has forced many industry observers to take stock and pose some... more

• Sidley Austin appoints new co-chair of executive committee

  May 02 2012 Sidley Austin has appointed Carter G. Phillips as the Co-Chair of the Firm’s Executive Committee - the group that exercises general authority over its policies and... more

• US companies to spend less on defending class actions in 2012

  Apr 30 2012 A new survey shows that US companies plan to spend less money on defending themselves against class action claims, despite a predicted increase in the number of suits... more

• Vinson & Elkins hires top energy & infrastructure talent from Herbert Smith in Tokyo

  Apr 27 2012 Vinson & Elkins has scored a high profile recruit in energy and projects specialist James Watson. Watson joins Vinson & Elkins as a partner at the firm’s Tokyo... more

• Linklaters forms alliance with Australian firm AAR

  Apr 25 2012 UK Magic Circle firm Linklaters has formed an exclusive alliance with Australian firm Allens Arthur Robinson. The alliance is not a merger, but will take the form of a... more

• Linklaters forms alliance with Australian firm AAR

  Apr 25 2012 UK Magic Circle firm Linklaters has formed an exclusive alliance with Australian firm Allens Arthur Robinson. The alliance is not a merger, but will take the form of a... more

• When large law firms fail, we need to re-examine the business model

  Apr 24 2012 Here is a very good article that addresses the question of why large law firms fail. The article points out that a dozen firms that have folded over the past ten... more

• Dewey's Hong Kong office is unaffected by the firm's troubles, says MP

  Apr 24 2012 Dewey & LeBoeuf has said that its troubles in the US have no bearing upon its operation in Hong Kong. Hong Kong managing partner Heng Loong Cheong said: “The Hong Kong... more

• Canadian law firms gathering client feedback, but falling down on putting it to use

  Apr 24 2012 A new survey of Canadian law firms shows that 65% of respondents ran a client feedback program. This is a significantly higher percentage than the global average - a... more

• Dewey & LeBoeuf to restructure Middle East practice after further departures

  Apr 23 2012 Dewey & LeBoeuf has initated a restructuring of its middle east operations, which could result in the closure of the firm’s Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha offices. The... more

• Indian firm Economic Laws Practice absorbs Prism Partners

  Apr 18 2012 Indian law firm Economic Laws Practice has absorbed Prism Partners & Advocates, taking the smaller firm’s principal partners P. R. Ramesh and Yogesh Chande into its... more

• Miami firm Bilzin Sumberg hires two top lawyers from Hunton & Williams

  Apr 18 2012 Miami firm Bilzin Sumberg has hired leading litigation lawyers Marty Steinberg and Jeffrey Gutchess of Hunton & Williams along with a number of associates.   “We are... more

• Litigation funding firm BlackRobe hires Simpson Thacher lawyer as MD

  Apr 18 2012 New York-based private investment firm BlackRobe Capital Partners has hired former Simpson Thacher & Bartlett lawyer Michael Chepiga to become its managing director.... more

• Freshfields boots Asia energy practice with hires from Allens and Milbank

  Apr 17 2012 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has boosted its energy practice in Asia with the hire of two new partners: Gavin MacLaren from Allens Arthur Robinson and Mark... more

• Salans set to close down its Beijing office

  Apr 16 2012 Salans is set to shutter its Beijing office after the partnership voted to close the office in favor of a more intense focus on Shanghai. The Beijing office has... more

• Indian firm Kochhar & Co is the first Indian law firm to launch an office in Japan

  Apr 13 2012 Indian law firm Kochhar & Co has launched a one-lawyer office in Tokyo after a two-year process to secure regulatory approval from the Japanese authorities.... more

• Dewey & LeBoeuf in discussions with its bankers over 9-figure debt

  Apr 04 2012 Troubled US firm Dewey & LeBoeuf has confirmed that it is in discussions with its bankers concerning the large debt that stands on the firm’s accounts. The firm’s... more

• Perkins Coie launches national healthcare group in Seattle after Bennett Bigelow hires

  Mar 29 2012 Perkins Coie has launched a national Healthcare Industry Group in Seattle after the hire of partners Renee Howard, Anne Redman and David Robbins, Of Counsel Brian... more

• Corporate lawyers leave large firms to join small firms

  Mar 28 2012 The legal industry has changed considerably since the global financial crisis in 2008. And while much attention has been given to the mergers between mid-sized firms,... more

• Eversheds' pilot program for in-house contract work sees success

  Mar 28 2012 UK firm Eversheds’ experiment with an in-house contract lawyer service has proven to be a success, and the firm has endorsed the pilot project by making it permanent.... more

• Berrymans Lace Mawer elects new senior partner

  Mar 26 2012 Berrymans Lace Mawer has elected Mike Brown to the role of senior partner, taking over from Terry Renouf, who will return to fee-earning in the London insurance... more

• Clyde & Co establishes presence in Mongolia with local alliance

  Mar 13 2012 Clyde & Co is set launch a presence in Mongolia after concluding the terms of an alliance local firm Khan Lex Advocates. Clydes international trade partner Stephen... more

• Managing partner of Scottish firm Dundas & Wilson steps down

  Mar 12 2012 The managing partner of Scottish firm [Dundas & Wilson 1731, Donald Shaw,] has resigned from the post with immediate effect, returning to full-time fee-earning.... more

• UK firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain boosts SIngapore office with relocation

  Mar 09 2012 UK insurance specialist firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain has boosted its Singapore office by relocating legal director Jeremy Hewitt from London. Mark Errington,... more

• Ropes & Gray applies for entry into South Korea

  Mar 08 2012 US firm Ropes & Gray is the latest international firms to announce plans to open an office in Seoul, after a free trade deal between the US and South Korea opened the... more

• Opponent of QC system is appointed as a silk

  Mar 07 2012 One of the 88 barristers to be appointed to the prestigious title of QC was previously an opponent of the QC system, supporting its abolition in an open letter to the... more

• Lawyers traverse Silicon Valley's lively lateral market

  Feb 29 2012 Here is an interesting article about the very lively lateral market in Silicon Valley. Shifting between law firms can be very lucrative, with plenty of firms seeking... more

• Australian lawyers head to Africa behind mining boom

  Feb 28 2012 Australian lawyers are following their clients into the mining boom to Africa, supporting over 230 Austrlaian mining companies with a physical presence on the... more

• Two law firms named among Canada’s best diversity employers

  Feb 23 2012 A list of the best diversity employers in Canada has recognised two law firms – Stikeman Elliott and Fraser Milner Casgrain. Canada’s Best Diversity Employers for... more

• Chinese firm Yingkehas teams with local firm to launch in Istanbul

  Feb 21 2012 Chinese law firm Yingke has launched a new office in İstanbul in cooperation with local law firm Çektir & Başarı. The law firm will be led by managing partner Berk... more

• Average profits rise at Scottish law firms

  Feb 20 2012 Profits at Scotland’s law firms are rising for the first time since the global finaincial crisis, with the average profit per equity partner across all sizes of firm... more

• 2012 may be more challenging than 2009, says legal industry advisory

  Feb 20 2012 The new client advisory from Citi Private Bank’s Law Firm Group and the Hildebrandt Institute has some disheartening news for the legal sector: “Unfortunately, the... more

• Howard Kennedy takes shears to partnership

  Feb 16 2012 Howard Kennedy has taken the shears to its partnership, removing six partners along with one senior associate from its real estate team. The move reduces the real... more

• Zhong Lun launches in London after hiring team from rival firm

  Feb 16 2012 Major Chinese law firm Zhong Lun has launched a new office in London after hiring the entire London team from breakaway firm Zhonglun W&D. Partners Xue Haibin, Li Lin... more

• DLA Piper launches in Mexico

  Feb 15 2012 DLA Piper has launched a new office in Mexico City. The new base will be staffed with a team of 16 lawyers from the Texas law firm Thompson & Knight, and will focus on... more

• Law firms boost insurance in the face of increasing malpractice suits

  Feb 08 2012 Law firms are bulking up on insurance to protect themselves from litigation by former clients. Insurance and legal experts say that the recent increase in the number... more

• Non-lawyer appointed as CEO for US firm Pepper Hamilton

  Feb 08 2012 Philadelphia law firm Pepper Hamilton has appointed a non-lawyer as its chief executive, hiring Scott Green, the former executive director of WilmerHale, to lead the... more

• ABA investigates limited ownership of law firms by non-lawyers

  Feb 07 2012 The ABA is currently considering the implications of opening firms to outside investment. It was over a decade ago that the New York State Bar Association joined with... more

• Pinsent Masons and McGrigors announce merger plans

  Feb 07 2012 London firm Pinsent Masons and Scottish firm McGrigors have announced a formal agreement to merge. The combined firm will operate under the banner of Pinsent Masons... more

• Lateral hiring is the growth strategy of choice at US law firms

  Feb 03 2012 The lateral market is heating up, as law firms reduce their graduate recruitment and seek to expand by hiring partners with established client lists from other law... more

• Law firms remain cautious in recruitment despite recovery

  Feb 01 2012 This article in the Wall Street Journal points out that law firms are finally starting to recover from the recession, but that the returning good fortune is not being... more

• South African firm Adams & Adams picks up Bowman Gilfillan IP team

  Jan 31 2012 South African corporate law firm Bowman Gilfillan is set transfer its team of 20 intellectual property lawyers to the specialist firm Adams & Adams in a "win-win"... more

• Integreon launches first LPO facility onshore in the UK

  Jan 28 2012 Legal services outsourcing firm Intergreon has launched its first centre in the UK, offering temp paralegal services to clients from its new base in Bristol. The... more

• Herbert Smith's bank borrowings reach £70.9m

  Jan 26 2012 Bank borrowings at Herbert Smith grew from £59.5m to £70.9m in 2010-11, bringing total debt back up to near 2008-09 levels, the firm’s LLP accounts have revealed.... more

• Freshfields launches global financial investment practice group

  Jan 25 2012 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has launched a global financial investors group to handle private equity, infrastructure funds, sovereign wealth funds and alternative... more

• DLA Piper relocates Asia-Pacific Employment head to Australia

  Jan 25 2012 DLA Piper has relocated the head of its employment practice in the Asia Pacific from Hong Kong to Sydney. Pattie Walsh will continue to lead the practice across Asia... more

• Herbert Smith's Belfast office grows apace

  Jan 21 2012 Herbert Smith has hired 18 lawyers in its Belfast office, bringing the number of employees at the office to 56. The office was launched in April 2011 with the aim... more

• McGrigors and Pinsent Masons in merger talks

  Jan 21 2012 Scotland’s largest law firm by turnover, McGrigors, has confirmed that it is in merger talks with the London-based Pinsent Masons, with a deal to be put to the firms’... more

• Scottish legal market looking up

  Dec 18 2011 There has been significant improvement in the Scottish legal market, according to a new survey of the country’s top firms conducted by industry advisors PKF. The... more

• Lathams gains commercial litigation capacity in Milan with merger

  Dec 06 2011 US firm Latham & Watkins is now able to offer commercial litigation expertise in Italy, after acquiring Italian litigation boutique Degli Occhi e Associati. Cesare... more

• Herbert Smith boosts Paris infrastructure practice with A&O hire

  Dec 04 2011 Herbert Smith has boosted its energy and infrastructure practice in Paris with the hire of partner Christophe Lefort, who was previously the general counsel at French... more

• New generation of partners surveyed

  Nov 26 2011 The Am Law Daily has hosted a conference for new partners in large law firms. In order to prepare for the conference the publication conducted a survey of about 5,600... more

• Law schools encouraged to teach practical skills

  Nov 24 2011 In the current economic climate, law graduates face a tough job market and an increasing number of corporate clients that would really rather not pay for their... more

• Kasowitz expands IP practice with Silicon Valley launch

  Nov 23 2011 Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman has expanded its intellectual property practice with the launch of an office in Silicon Valley. The office will be led by... more

• Vogel & Vogel teams up with Truman Hoyle in European-Australian alliance

  Nov 15 2011 Australian law firm Truman Hoyle has announced an alliance with competition law firm Vogel & Vogel, which offices in Paris, Brussels and Frankfurt. The link between... more

• Top Japanese firm set to launch in Singapore

  Nov 14 2011 Japanese firm Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is set to open a Singapore office in early 2012 pending regulatory approval. The firm - one of Japan's Big Four corporate law... more

• Australian firm Allens Arthur Robinson launches in Mongolia

  Nov 14 2011 Australian law firm Allens Arthur Robinson has launched an office in Mongolia. The firm does not plan to have a permanent legal staff on site, and will instead rotate... more

• Proskauer Rose launches office in Beijing

  Nov 11 2011 Proskauer Rose has launched an office in Beijing's Chaoyang District, after being granted regulatory approval by the Chinese authorities. The firm set its sights on... more

• MoFo boosts Tokyo M&A practice with O’Melveny & Myers hire

  Nov 10 2011 Morrison & Foerster has boosted its mergers and acquisitions capacity in Tokyo with the hire of partner Dale Araki, who was formerly the managing partner of O’Melveny... more

• Allen & Overy reports 11% revenue growth

  Nov 10 2011 Allen & Overy has posted an 11% increase in revenue in the first half of the year, after investing in key international markets. The firm saw revenues of £582m between... more

• Cyprus law firm Michael Kyprianou & Co launches India desk

  Nov 07 2011 Cyprus law firm Michael Kyprianou & Co has launched an India desk to help Indian clients set up companies and do business in Cyprus and Greece, offering advice on... more

• Olswang halves trainee program

  Nov 04 2011 Olswang has announced that it has cut its graduate program in half because of decreased client demand. In 2014 and 2015 the firm will take on just 12 graduates,... more

• DLA Piper boosts Beijing employment practice with Dell hire

  Nov 04 2011 DLA Piper has boosted its Beijing employment practice in China with the hire of leading labour lawyer Chris Lin. Lin is set to join the firm as of counsel, after... more

• Eversheds boosts Hong Kong office with Minter Ellison hire

  Nov 01 2011 Eversheds has hired Winnie Ng, a former consultant with Minter Ellison, and appointed her as head of employment law in its Hong Kong office. “Winnie’s expertise and... more

• Baker & McKenzie establishes presence in Turkey with local alliance

  Oct 31 2011 Baker & Mckenzie now has a presence in Turkey after making an exclusive relationship agreement with Istanbul-based firm Esin Law Firm. The chairman of Baker &... more

• Pillsbury set to open new office in Abu Dhabi

  Oct 28 2011 Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman is set to open its first Middle Eastern office in Abu Dhabi, with plans to expand services offered to existing clients and take... more

• Australian firm Mallesons Stephen Jacques signs outsourcing agreement

  Oct 28 2011 Australian firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques has announced that it will outsource legal work to India as a way of cutting costs in a tough market. The firm has signed an... more

• Taylor Wessing to launch tech practice in London

  Oct 25 2011 Taylor Wessing is set to boost its technology capacity with the launch of a second office in London. The office, in east London's 'Tech City' will offer expertise in... more

• UK firm Martineau teams with German firm to launch in Brussels

  Oct 18 2011 UK firm Martineau is set to launch a new office in Brussels, after concluding negotiations to ally with German firm Becker Büttner Held. Becker Büttner Held has been... more

• UK firm Irwin Mitchell starts outsourcing ahead of conversion to ABS

  Oct 18 2011 UK firm Irwin Mitchell is has announced that it will outsource 81 support staff in preparation for its conversion to an alternative business structure (ABS). The firm... more

• Greenberg Traurig set to launch in Mexico City

  Oct 14 2011 Greenberg Traurig is set to launch a new office in Mexico City. The firm’s 33rd office will focus on providing legal expertise to clients operating in the Mexican and... more

• Two more senior departures from Ashurst

  Oct 12 2011 Ashurst will see two more senior departures from its litigation practice, with litigation chief Michael Madden leaving the firm and partner Wil Thorburn set to join JP... more

• Indian firm J. Sagar Associates hires Herbert Smith attorney

  Oct 10 2011 Indian firm J. Sagar Associates has hired Promod Nair as a Partner in the Bangalore office. Nair previously working as a Senior Associate with Herbert Smith’s... more

• Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati set to launch in Brussels

  Sep 28 2011 Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has announced the launch of a new office in Brussels, which is set to open in October. The office will be led by Michael Rosenthal,... more

• Singapore firm Rajah & Tann launches in Vietnam and Bangkok

  Sep 16 2011 Prominent Singapore firm Rajah & Tann has launched offices in Vietnam and Thailand. The Ho Chi Minh office has a headcount of four lawyers while the Bangkok office... more

• Financial penalties encourage Barlows equity partners to stay put after merger

  Sep 15 2011 The merger deal between Barlow Lyde & Gilbert and Clyde & Co includes financial penalties for any Barlows equity partners that leave the combined firm any time in the... more

• Pinsent Masons to close Bristol office

  Sep 12 2011 Pinsent Masons is set to close its Bristol office after a partnership vote today. The 11 lawyers in the Bristol office will be relocated to Birmingham, while four... more

• Dubai firm allies with Indian firm to expand aviation practice

  Aug 30 2011 Dubai-based law firm Donald H. Bunker and Associates has formed an alliance with Indian law firm Chandigarh-based Sarin & Co. Donald H. Bunker and Associates... more

• Are clients really getting better value from law firms?

  Aug 24 2011 This is an interesting opinion piece that interrogates the response given by large law firms to client demands for greater efficiency. It points out that for all... more

• Indianapolis firm Ice Miller takes on 90 lawyers via merger

  Aug 24 2011 Indianapolis-based law firm Ice Miller has merged with Columbus firm Schottenstein Zox & Dunn, bringing 90 lawyers under the Ice Miller Banner from 1 January 2012.... more

• Dorsey and Martin Hu in US-China law firm alliance

  Aug 23 2011 US law firm Dorsey & Whitney has allied with Shanghai-based corporate law firm Martin Hu & Partners (MHP) in a ‘special counsel’ relationship. The special counsel... more

• German firm Graf von Westphalen makes joint venture with Turkish firm

  Aug 23 2011 German firm Graf von Westphalen is set to open an office in Istanbul after negotiating a joint venture arrangement with Turkish firm GSI Meridian. “The joint... more

• Law firms add value to junior associates

  Aug 23 2011 Law firms are responding to Junior lawyers have long been a profit center for large law firms, charged out to clients at hundreds of dollars an hour. But with clients... more

• Mayer Brown reconfigures German practice around Düsseldorf

  Aug 19 2011 Mayer Brown has announced plans to close its Berlin and Cologne offices, shifting their operations to a new office in Düesseldorf, which is set to open at the start of... more

• Ex-Ingrams lawyer to launch personal-injury boutique in UK

  Aug 18 2011 UK firm Ingrams Solicitors has sold most of its personal injury cases to Neil Hudgell Solicitors, which has offices in York and Hull. But former Ingrams lawyer... more

• Kirkland & Ellis boosts HK practice with multiple lateral hires

  Aug 15 2011 Kirkland & Ellis has been on a lateral hiring spree in Hong Kong, scooping up eight partners from rival firms: two from Allen & Overy, three from Latham & Watkins, and... more

• NY State Bar Assn pushes for more practical legal education

  Aug 08 2011 According to the New York State Bar Association, US legal education puts too much emphasis in theoretical knowledge and does not equip lawyers with the practical... more

• Offshore firm Walkers promotes eight to partnership

  Jul 29 2011 Offshore firm Walkers has announced the promotion of eight finance and corporate lawyers to the partnership, while elevating eleven associates to the role of senior... more

• Law firms seek fast bucks from M&A suits

  Jul 18 2011 The number of mergers and acquisitions lawsuits filed in 2010 increased by nearly 850% over 2008 figures, according to new reports. M&A suits, which typically... more

• Canadian law firms weather the economic storm

  Jul 06 2011 Canadian law firms seem to have weathered the financial crisis and recession without seeing any major firms go under, without serious hits to the bottom line, and... more

• Mayer Brown set to launch in Singapore

  Jul 01 2011 Mayer Brown is set to launch in Singapore, after the firm relocated Hong Kong projects partner Kevin Owen to lead the new office. Owen will be joined by Hong Kong... more

• The myth of work-life balance in big firms

  Jul 01 2011 Here is an interesting article in the Guardian about work-life balance – or the lack thereof – in large law firms. The article observes that firms maintain the fiction... more

• 124 year old law firm to close down

  Jun 27 2011 Warner Smith & Harris, a Fort Smith, Arkansas based firm founded in 1887, is set to close after a sting of defections left the firm incapable of servicing its clients.... more